The Meridional. (Abbeville, La.) 1856-1906, 1887-06-18

lying there at the mercy Of the first
Storm that might arise. But the
horrors of that fearful night are be-
yond the powers of description.
With the exception Of n Or two
rooms, and one or two bars, the
whole crowd were exposed to the
furious onslaught Of the mosquitoes,
the size Of which vas fearful, the
quantity beyond description. 1t was
truly a battle for lille. Strong men
who probably had never shed g tear
before (as men). gave up and wept
like children. Others kept from des,
pairing by lighting desperately tor
their wives and children, sweethearts
and friends. There was not even a
breeze to cool the heated brow or
water enough to moisten the p%arched
lips. The groans and cries on all
sides were truly h~eartrending, and
the most heartrending cry of all was
the cry of the poor little helpless
babe. 1t. was enough to touch and
melt an heart of adamant; but all
things must come to an eEd, and that
night, with all its horrors, never to
be forgotten, wore slowly away, and
at last the darkness Of the night
geve place to the glorious light of
day, and the sight which then pre-
sen ted itself to the eye will be re-
meuibered as long as lite shall last.
There was one gentleman who
seemed to have suffered more than
the rest, if possible. Ny heart went
out to him in sympathy when he told
me that he had fought al the live
long night in defense of his wife,
sister and children.
There was many an act OF sacrl-
fee, and many a deed of bravery
done that night which will never be
known to the outside world, but
,. which will be recorded in heaven
against that day when we shall all
} have to answer for what we have
! done, whether good OF bad. Many
: a prayer went up to God that night
5 from hearts which probably had
never prayed before; and a word fol
:; the Captain-may God bless him.
! There we're two ladies on board
sick. ! honestly believe it would
! have killed them to have been ex
= posed 70 that storm Of mosquitoes
< on the outside. Captain George, OF
finding out their condition, gener
j. onsly gave up his own room; bu
ever then the husbands who had tt
stand 10y them all night TO nurse
them, had to do some tall fighting
to keep the pests off. But, as | hav'
been requested to be brief, | mus
= draw this sketch to a close.
About 8 or 10 o'clock the tide wa
Il high enough to justify the Captain
&c in trying the anchor one more. |
Il was put out, the rope vas how
= taught, the ship began to move. al
L hearts were beating fast with hop
IL aud expectation. aud all eyes wer
= opened to their fullest extent to Sc
"a what was then to us the most we
q come Of all sights, the ship move
u ard at last with a supreme effor
!, accompanied by a rousing cheer, W
III glided off into deep water and wcr
d once more aGoat. And now, ate
'e having tasted for several hours ar
'e fresh water very scarce, we bega
the %homeward trip. We reache
u the cnstomhonse and picked up tn
a fishing party which had been lie
" there the day before. They were i
y a sad plight; and now we tried
y pass the time in comparing note
70 and sympathizing with each other.
The first landing is reached, til
1 10 crowd begins to disperse, thos
Al bound for Abbeville begin to loo
t. on anEiously for the sweet lit
s. town lying so spugIy among II
nc trees on the banks Of the bayou, ii
wharf is reached, we are met b
anxious friends, kisses, tears an
III congratulation are all mixed up t
gether, and the writer, accepting II
''e offer Of a friend IN the shape of
70 buggy, climbs into it with his bette
half and drives rapidly to his snu
quarters on the edge Of town, wher
81 after taking a bath, he sits down
Vr a square meal; and thank God, nj
u only for His ard His loved one